Dick Martin: Plenty of opportunities upcoming for hunters

This week's column will be devoted mostly to upcoming shoots and workshops, but there are some good opportunities for Buckeye outdoorsmen among them.

For example, there will be a special hunt drawing at Maumee Bay on Aug. 22. The lottery drawings are for 10 goose hunt stations at the Maumee Bay State Park golf course and beach area. Interested hunters must sign up for the noon drawing in person at the State Park office during operating hours, Monday through Friday. The park office is located at 1400 State Park Road, Oregon, OH 43616. Interested applicants must provide proof of a 2018 Ohio hunting license, a valid Ohio wetlands habitat stamp endorsement, and a signed 2018 federal duck stamp.

The ODNR is also holding a lottery for hunters wishing to construct a blind to hunt ducks and geese. Drawings will be held the morning of Saturday, Aug. 18 for six blinds at Spring Valley and seven blinds at Clark Lake Wildlife Area. The event will start promptly at 8 a.m. at the Wildlife District Five Office, 1076 Old Springfield Pike in Xenia. The drawing for approximately 70 blinds at Mercer Wildlife Area will be open for applications at 7:15 a.m. at Mercer Wildlife Area, 6615 State Route 703, Celina,. 45822. Interested applicants must provide the necessities listed above, hunting licenses, etc. including free HIP certification.

And there will be an Ohio State Parks Lottery on Aug. 18 for more than 280 permits to construct a blind to hunt ducks and geese at selected Parks. There is a $50 non-refundable permit fee for lottery winners. Bring hunting licenses, etc. Participating parks range from Portage Lakes and West Branch to Adams Lake, Shawnee , and Buckeye Lake, a total of 18 parks. For details, call 800-WILDLIFE.

Hunters interested in learning the basics of mourning dove hunting are encouraged to attend free workshops at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area and Pickerel Creek Wildlife area. A workshop will be held on Aug. 28 at Killdeer Plains Headquarters, 19100 Co. Hwy 115, Harpster 43323 from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Aug. 29 at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area Headquarters 3451 County Road 256, Vickery, 43464 from 6 to 8 p.m. Call Andrea Altman 419-429-8321 to pre-register.

Need a good reason to hunt or trap coyotes this fall and winter? At a major northeastern fur auction recently, eastern coyotes sold for an average of $30.32, and more for large, really prime pelts. Just for the record, muskrats sold for an average of $3-4, fox both red and grey in the $20 range, raccoons averaged $5-8, best beaver furs $15, and mink and otter were mostly unsold.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor articles for 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com